Tempus Fugit
by SpiralJane
Summary: Two destinies intertwine, one in the past, the other in the future.
1. Chapter 1

_England, 1854_

_ The water made dazzling patterns beneath the ice, and Helen could not take her eyes off of it. It seemed a contradiction, the water moving swiftly while the surface remained completely still. Years from now Helen would look back and realize how similar this winter river and herself really were. But for now, she was a young girl of four who looked odd alone on the bridge, leaning over and peering into the depths below. _

_ It was December, and London was muted in snow save for the occasional carriage passing. If she hadn't been concentrating so hard on the river, Helen would have heard the chase approaching the bridge. A boy carrying a sack was fleeing a pair of policemen. It seemed hard for him, running in the snow, but his youth gave him an edge over the clumsier men behind._

_ "Oi, you! Stop!"_

_ The boy paid no attention. He merely kept running, full out, toward the bridge. _

_ As he began crossing the bridge, his footing became worse. Helen finally looked up as the boy came within feet of her. But it was too late to act. The boy slipped and began to fall. With great force he crashed into the young girl, sending her over the side and to the water below._

_ Helen's small body fell easily through the thin layer of ice. As she became submerged in the frigid water her senses screamed out. The current tossed her downstream. When her head came into contact with a rock she attempted to gasp, inhaling ice water._

_ Helen's world tumbled more and more quickly, and she inched closer to unconsciousness. Finally, she broke the icy surface. Right before her world went completely black a firm hand grabbed her shoulder. Mercifully, she allowed herself to surrender to oblivion._

_ Helen came to coughing and frozen through and through. Her damp clothes were surrounded by a jacket much too large for the young girl. And she was being carried. She looked up at her rescuer, a woman, probably in her late 20's, 30 at the oldest. She wore her hair in a very peculiar manner, unlike anything Helen had seen before. Short, save for the front, and many colors, brown, blonde, black, and sticking out at all sorts of angles. The arm cradling Helen had a tattoo on it, but more vibrant than any tattoo Helen had ever seen. For that matter, the jacket in which she was wrapped was also peculiar. _

_ The woman looked down and noticed Helen was awake. She stopped walking, sitting Helen on the side of the path and squatting so she could meet her eye to eye._

_ "Close call, love. How are you feeling?" The woman asked._

_ Helen, a very erudite young girl, mustered all the propriety that her fragile body would allow. "Much better. Thank you for saving me. May I ask your name?"_

_ "Ah, but that would spoil the surprise," the woman said, grinning kindly. She began looking Helen over, making sure that she had not missed any injuries. She got to Helen's head before the girl winced._

_ "Yeah, sorry. That's probably going to sting for a while," the woman paused, letting Helen rest for a moment. "You ready to go home?"_

_ Helen nodded. "I live at -"_

_ "I know where you live, Helen Magnus. I know much about you."_

_ "How?"_

_ The woman smiled warmly. "As I said before, that would spoil the surprise." The woman rose from her crouched position and extended a hand to Helen, who took it. The woman helped her to her feet. Helen suddenly felt strange about this woman._

_ "Let's get you home," the woman said._

_ "Actually," Helen said as polite as possible, "I can get home by myself. Thanks for helping me."_

_ "Suit yourself, Helen." Helen turned to leave, but the woman's last comment caused her to stop in her tracks._

_ All she said was, "thank you for saving me, Helen." _

_ Helen turned, but the woman was gone. As if she had just vanished._

_ That day in December would haunt and confuse Helen Magnus for 153 years._


	2. Chapter 2

"Dude, you're missing the point. That's like picking emergency rations over a steak dinner. Sure the rations do the trick, but the steak dinner has the added bonus of tasting good!"

Henry Foss and Will Zimmerman walked along one of many lavish hallways in the Sanctuary in spirited debate. At least, Henry was spirited.

"Whatever, Henry. I just think it would be cool is all. Maybe I don't need to do all that other stuff too," said Will, as they approached their boss's office. They paused outside the door momentarily to finish their conversation.

Henry said, "See, now you're just bowing out, because you know I'm right. Why bother being able to fly if you could just teleport?"

A voice behind them chimed in, causing them to jump. "Maybe he just wants to be able to feel the wind in his hair," Bigfoot added, chuckling. He and Will walked into the office, Henry trailing behind.

"Fine, fine. What do you think doc?" Henry asked toward the back of a plush leather office chair in front of a set of computer screens. He could see the very top of Dr. Helen Magnus's head as she faced her work. "If you could choose between flight or teleportation which would you go for?"

But there was no response from the normally opinionated Helen. In fact, there was no movement at all. The trio looked back and forth at each other, worry washing itself over each of their faces. It was Will who finally approached the still chair. He turned it slightly toward him, and then immediately looked up to the other two.

Helen Magnus was not moving. Her eyes were closed; her jaw was clenched tight. Will reached his hand out to her face, and he touched her cheek.

"She's freezing cold," he said, his hand jumping to her neck, feeling for a pulse. Henry and Bigfoot rushed over to the chair.

"Is she," Henry began to ask.

"She's alive," Will responded. "I'm going to see if I can wake her."

Will's full attention returned to his boss's unconscious form. He raised his hand once more to her face, but this time gently patted her cheek.

"Magnus. Magnus, wake up." He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her slightly.

"Come on, Magnus! Wake up!"

Finally, Helen stirred to life, gasping for air. As soon as her eyes were open her teeth began to chatter. She tried to focus as she looked around the room, and she finally settled on Will.

"Cold," she whispered. Will looked up at his two colleagues, only pausing for a second before pulling Helen into an embrace. He began rubbing her back, trying to produce even more heat. Helen felt as if she had just been in the arctic.

"Henry, we need blankets, lots of them," Will said, jumping into command mode. "Grab all that you can and meet Biggie and me in Magnus's room."

To Henry's credit, he did not question the situation, merely nodded and then exited. Will looked to Biggie.

"We have to get her warm and fast. She feels like she's hypothermic."

"Right," Biggie said. Will stood up, pulling Helen up with him. He didn't want to break contact with her until she was in someone else's arms. He handed her carefully over to Bigfoot, who proceeded to lift her. He seemed shocked for a moment.

"How is she this cold?"

"I don't know," Will responded. "The only time I've ever felt someone that cold was when my best friend fell through some thin ice when we were playing hockey on a lake. How could that happen sitting in her office?"

The two didn't wait for inspiration to strike. They quickly carried Helen out of the office and toward warmth.


End file.
